How effective really is the Open Day in school?
In this article, I am discussing Open Day held in school to communicate about a child's progress. Is really useful to teachers and parents to achieve goals? How can we make it more effective so that parents and teachers are updated about the child's learning process and together work for the child's progress?
Earlier, report cards were dispatched to the students' addresses after the evaluation of the annual examination. Whenever formative and summative assessments were conducted, the report cards were given to students. These marks cards were to be shown to the parents for signature. The next day, the class teacher collected the mark sheets from the students. The teachers would call parents only if the child was performing too poorly, and the teachers and parents never openly interacted with each other about the child. Due to a lack of communication, some students became negligent and gradually scored lower marks as they were promoted to higher classes. Open Day is a special event in school to discuss child's progress and to further plan the path of progress. Parents and teachers should effectively communicate about the child without leading to debate. Some common problems, though, should be addressed and resolved by teachers and parents through mutual understanding.Drawbacks of Open Day and the ways to make it effective
Just showing the marks card and test papers is not enough
Teachers are not focused on their roles
Some teachers are disinterested towards their duties. They simply teach the students, provide notes and arrange for exams. Such teachers cannot provide proper feedback to the parents. If a child is scoring lesser marks, then they simply state your child is inattentive. Some teachers even state that they cannot give attention to the child as they need to manage other students also. They simply state parents are responsible for the progress of the child. Such teachers should understand their sacred role as a teacher. They can derive the highest form of satisfaction if they work enthusiastically. Biased teachers or school authorities or parents
On Open Day, the teachers and parents both should be good listeners. If the teachers are not willing to listen to the parents, then the parents become pressurized. They lose confidence and cannot find a direction toward success. Parents play an integral role in shaping a child's future and should be motivated. Some parents on the other hand are unwilling to listen to the teachers. They cannot accept the weakness of the child and simply walk out if the teacher is speaking about negative aspects. Both should effectively evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a child and accordingly work for the development. Every child is unique and blessed with some form of strength. If both parties are biased, then they start conflicting with each other.Teachers or school authorities should not merely complain
If a teacher is merely complaining about a child, then they should suggest some ways for improvement. Every problem has a solution just as every cloud has a silver lining. They should respect parents even if the child is weaker in studies. A child cannot progress merely if a teacher is complaining about the child. Even parents are aware of the child's weakness and are seeking for solutions.
An open day is very useful for parents and teachers. It is the time when teachers and parents can interact and parents of a student can also interact with the parents of other children. An interaction between the teacher and the parent will help both of them to be on common ground regarding the child.
In government schools, I have never seen this concept but many private schools arrange an interaction day for the teachers and parents. But the whole exercise will become a waste if the parties involved have no belief in the system.
This day should not become a day of complaints. Parents making complaints about the teacher and teachers complaining about the student will never serve the purpose. If both the parties understand this, open day system will definitely be good for the betterment of the student as well as the institution also.